Baby- and toddler-friendly filled eggs will be placed around for our youngest fen and their helpers to find. Sign-up sheet for participation of children ages newborn to 2 will be available in Olympic 1 until Saturday evening to guarantee space and supplies.

Join author and martial artist Steven Barnes in this hour of gentle Chinese exercise, suitable for all fitness and experience levels. Wear loose clothes!

Come sign up for a game run by our DMs or check out games from our lending library. We have RPGs, computer games, LARPs, card games, board games, and so much more! Need ADA access for a game? Please speak to our staff when you sign up so we can be sure to meet your needs.

All weekend there are dealers and game developers running demos of games in Maxi’s Salon. Come up and see the latest and greatest games and talk to game developers.

Pathfinder Society and Dungeons and Dragons’ Adventurers League will be running games throughout the weekend. Check the gaming schedule for details.

Karen G. Anderson will cover the basics (and beyond) for submitting your short fiction to magazines, anthologies, and podcasts. Topics include matching your fiction to markets, deciding where to submit, reading guidelines, formatting submissions, writing cover letters, tracking submissions, querying about a submission’s status, creating a submission plan for each story, handling rejections, and (very important!) handling acceptances. Includes lecture, handouts, and lots of Q&A. Presented by Cascade Writers. Ages 18+. Space is limited and advance sign-up is required in Cascade 1.

Preschooler-appropriate candy- and toy-filled eggs will be hidden for kids ages 3 to 5 to find with their caregivers. Sign-up sheet for participation will be available in Olympic 1 until Saturday evening to guarantee space and supplies.

“The Forever Boy.” The Forever Boy never had to grow up. When he ran from the Trail of Tears, he was saved from the Blue Coats and their guns by the Little People of Cherokee myth. They took him in and let him forget the horror that had destroyed his whole family. They let him remain a child for 200 years. But now, thanks to climate change, it’s starting all over, and the boy must decide whether to run away again or become a man and save his people. The story appears in the new anthology Children of Another Sky, out in November 2017. Rated: G.

Disney owns Marvel, Star Wars, ABC, and Pixar. Does Disney control pop culture, or is the pop culture universe letting go? Let’s discuss Disney and what they mean to current popular culture.

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games revolutionized computer gaming, becoming the dominant mode for computer role-playing games. Certainly they learned a thing or two from tabletop gaming. Yet today, many tabletop games are borrowing concepts from video games. Join our panel in a discussion of the increasingly blurry lines of game development.

There is nothing more exciting than a charge of mounted riders bearing down on their enemy. From the time of knights mounted on heavy horses to World War I and the Light Horsemen, horses were an essential part of warrior culture. Experienced armored riders will tell you about the horse that carries them.

A stuck writer is a writer not writing. Find your motivation in this panel! Learn how to use writing prompts to start a story, work through tough scenes, or battle the dreaded writer’s block.

Balancing freelance projects can be difficult. Each has deadlines and if you’re like most freelancers, you take on as much as possible because the pay is good! Hear pros share how they balance their personal, family, and freelance life so they stay healthy and able to produce good work.

While the term “drabble” is sometimes used to indicate a short piece of fanfiction, in the strictest sense it means a story exactly 100 words long—which is more of a challenge than you might think. In this writing exercise you’ll create a drabble of your own and learn tricks for making every word count!

Join us to watch the masquerade and then have a debriefing of it. Contestants’ music and any items lost and found from the backstage area will be available at this panel. Any unclaimed awards will be here also.

Whether you’re writing a space fight, hand-to-hand combat in armor, or a super badass ninja fight scene, accuracy is crucial. What’s the best way to know if your fight scene is realistic? If your characters wear armor, talk to some SCA members. If your character is battling in a low-gravity environment, are they trained for this? If so, are you prepared to offer your reader convincing details that only a lo-grav martial artist would know? This panel will discuss combat research sources for writers, how to choreograph a good fight, and other factors crucial to creating believable fight scenes.

Eggs filled with candy and surprises will be hidden for our bigger kids to find. Sign-up sheet for participation will be available in Olympic 1 until Saturday evening to guarantee space and supplies.

Come and rediscover the joy of coloring! We will have some coloring pages and a variety of pens/pencils/crayons for your use.

“Stolen.” A dark tale of a lost soul trying to find its way home. Rated: PG.

Each youth who signs up will be given a clue that will lead your team to a clutch of eggs that are hidden somewhere in the con space. Sign-up sheet for participation will be available in Olympic 1 until Saturday evening. Clues will be distributed at the time of the hunt.

Work to be decided. Rated: R.

Panelists will discuss the origin and history of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), what the organization does for professional SF&F writers and the genre, and what its direction will be in the coming years.

Women who work in technical fields tell how they got interested in their work and what kept them going.

Your food is genetically modified. From the corn fed to beef cattle to bovine growth hormones, from increased yields of grain to apples tweaked to yield different/better flavor, your grocery store is practically a SF novel itself these days. Whether you see food tech as Frankensteinian or as the counter to climate change and an exploding world population, this panel will discuss technological advances in food and farming, as well as books that address these issues: Tuf Voyaging by George R.R. Martin; Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block; Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison, on which Soylent Green was based.

Speculative fiction and detective fiction have a lot in common—they are both about digging down to the truth of matters. Fictional scientists and explorers, like detectives, follow clues and act on hunches. It’s hard enough to write a mystery, so why do writers choose to combine it with the complexity of science fiction or fantasy? What elements of detective fiction make for satisfying fantasy? What elements of fantasy make for satisfying mysteries?

What should you expect to be doing on your own if you’re being published by a small press? Are there benefits to going with a smaller press? Do you maintain more creative control? What are some downfalls?

One criticism of characters like Squirrel Girl is that they aren’t serious; they’re too “cute” or funny. But what’s wrong with that? The same folks who will tell you that comics shouldn’t have politics will also tell you that they can’t take Squirrel Girl or Moon Girl seriously. You almost never hear the same criticism aimed at Deadpool or Hawkeye. What’s with the double standard?

Whether you’re a publisher or a self-published author, you will eventually have to address the realities of eBook distribution. Let’s explore the digital landscape. Where do you send your eBook? What should you expect? What are the technical requirements? What do you need to upload it? What should you include in the eBook? We will explore the different outlets around the country and around the world. Presented by Clarion West. Ages 14+. Space is limited, and advance sign-up is required in Cascade 1.

With so many shows on TV and streaming networks, what is good to watch? Let us discuss what’s currently on your TV, computer, or portable device.

Storytime and activities for families in Olympic 1.

Flowers made from ribbons and sewn on skirts, dresses, jackets, and hats were a popular form of embellishment during the Victorian era. Though very showy and glamorous, the techniques are not difficult and once you have the concept you can create all kinds of amazing botanical beauty. Sign up in Cascade 1

“Witchka.” A police detective regains his self-worth and sense of place with the help of a young trainee witch—a witchka. Rated: G.

Norwescon presents a fun-filled opportunity at bidding on the hottest and most sought-after art from the Norwescon Art Show. This event also raises money for our longtime friend Norwest Harvest. Hundreds of donated items will be on display prior to the start of the event, come early to stake out a good spot for watching and bidding. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. Bidding starts at noon.

Accelerator. Accelerator is a first person self-insertion time travel alternate history deus ex machina wish fulfillment journal-style info dump tuckerized political science fiction mystery set in the late 20th century. Rated: G.

“The birds and the bees” may be a euphemism for sex, but there is almost nothing about the way birds and bees reproduce that is like the way mammals in general and humans in particular do. Same with lizards and spiders and sharks, and then there are the parakites, which are REALLY weird. How weird? Come and find out.

Whether it is a bone, a body, a grave, a tree, a rock, or a planet, eventually someone is going to ask, “how old is it?”. What are the ways we weigh the passage of time in things? Come talk the tech of time with our not particularly ancient panelists.

How does nerd community make our lives better? What has it given us and how do we help to keep that going and give back to others as well?

Lord of the Rings, Dungeons & Dragons, Harry Potter—a hundred different fandoms, and no two trolls are the same. Discuss overcoming generational gaps within families, and how to keep everyone in the loop instead of talking over each other’s heads (or not talking at all!)

Genre fiction—be it television, movies, comics, or books—has seen a tremendous increase in the number of LGBT characters. Is this a natural maturation of the writing process, or a conscious decision in the name of diversity? Our panelists will discuss their own LGBT characters, and how these characters came to be included in the narrative.

There are so many good games out there to play on different platforms. Is World of Warcraft still the top dog? Do I need a computer, or can I just play on my phone? Let us look at the different games out there; what is the best and what is needed to play them.

Your final chance for the latest previews, news, and rumors from Hollywood. Including at no additional cost the famous, “why? Why? WHY?”

Norwescon knows filk, but what about the rest of geek music? What about nerdcore and chiptunes? Geek rock, math rock, parody, comedy, and… how does it intersect? How do these bands intertwine? This will be a seminar on nerd music, how it got started, and how it continues to evolve now.

Drop by for magical animal themed crafts and activities for our young members.

Renegade. The prologue from the upcoming novel Renegade, the sequel to Grayshade, published by The Ed Greenwood Group. Rated: PG.

“Campfire Tales.” A series of flash fiction pieces: fantasy and science fiction. Rated: G.

Ever wanted to write a time travel story but you’re stuck in an infinite loop of procrastination and inspiration? Join time travel authors who can talk about the challenges, the rewards, the theories, and that frustrating moment when you curse your future self because they didn’t use their time machine to go back in time and just give you a completed novel.

A place of meditation, discussion, contemplation, and thoughts about those who have passed since the last Norwescon. Honor those who have passed on with a thought, memory, or a simple prayer to whatever you wish. Leave the name of someone you remember.

Body shaming is rife in cosplay circles, with constant cries for bigger fans to play “body appropriate” characters… because there are so many of those to choose from. What do you do if you don’t have the body type of your favorite character? We’ll show you why it’s okay to be a plus size Wonder Woman, Power Girl, or Superman.

As gamers grow up and settle down, where do games fit in? How can parents juggle gaming and parenting? How soon should you teach your kid to play Dungeons & Dragons? Come hear a discussion on gaming as adults and parents and learn how to squeeze gaming back into your schedule.

These days, we have plenty of stories where heroes are witches, something that was unthinkable not that long ago. Is it possible today to tell a sympathetic story about a witch-burner? Are “backward” or currently socially unacceptable themes forbidden, or must readers and authors always project modern social norms onto historical fiction? How do writers of time travel, historical fiction, or even fantasy remain true to a time period without potentially offending modern readers?

How do artists create believable fantasy and sci-fi creatures? Let’s discuss points of anatomy, references, and environment.

To this day and for the foreseeable future, success in battle is largely a function of choosing the physical place that gives your force an inherent advantage and simultaneously puts your foe at a disadvantage. This is called ‘good ground’. Learn what those factors are and how to both take advantage of them or decline battle and fight another day.

Do bands make money anymore? Musical acts can. It is a balance of release schedules, licensing, avoiding pitfalls related to copyrights and intellectual properties, and still the hard work of the live show and the traveling act. We can discuss strategies for audience engagement, social media rollouts, etc. Learn how to make money as a musician!

“A Conch-Shell Note.” Every few years, a conch-shell note lures chosen youth of Anantapura to adventure. How does it change the lives of Venkatadri, Krishnan and Shyamala? Rated: G.

Drop in to Cascade 4 to compare ribbons and let us know how our youth programming fared. What did you love? What would you like to see for next year? Who knows, there could be prizes!

Protagonists in horror movies often do things the audience knows they shouldn’t—read the cursed book, stay in the obviously haunted house, give a ride to the creepy hitchhiker. What are some of the most ridiculous examples? And, let’s be honest, would any of us really run screaming from the Amityville Horror house after paying $50,000 in a non-refundable down payment?

You have a great costume idea, but it needs a dozen of your closest friends. How do you get them involved, organized, motivated, and on track? What can you do in advance to make the process easier, particularly if half of them don’t sew?

Technological changes have always impacted the economy and the way people made their living, but it used to be happen rarely, start locally, and take generations to spread. Now they happen all the time, can appear anywhere, and be global before lunch. What does this mean now? What will it mean for the future? What is the next big change that will change everything?

The Soviet Union was the first nation to place a spacecraft in orbit, the first to fly animals in space, the first to fly a man and later a woman in space, the first to have a cosmonaut walk in space. But today it is a shadow of its former self. Their Space Shuttle BURAN flew but once, and unmanned at that, the MIR space station was crashed into the Pacific Ocean and today it seems incapable of doing very much compared to its former glories. What happened? And is it a cautionary tale for the U.S.?

“Location, location, location” as the old saying goes. It impacts everything, especially in freshly imagined worlds. Are your story’s lands near water? How has that affected the language, trade, and development of people in that location? If your nation is hidden in the mountains, how do you raise their stakes if they are secluded? Land and location affect people deeply, and how thoroughly you imagine your locale will impact the depiction of your main characters, too.

Everybody says sex sells. But why does it have to sell only to heterosexual men? Here panelists will discuss the problem of toxic objectification in art, and what we can do to change it for the better.

The Fannish Olympics is back with traditional and fun events! First you must survive the first three days of the con, then get a team of 1-8 players and compete to win three free memberships for Norwescon 42. Craft the very worst Vogon poetry; compete in the Game of Chairs; survive the Tardis Shuffle. Bring your volunteer sheets from throughout the con and get ready for some exciting fan-created sporting-like challenges.

You’ve got your tail, your look, your mersona… now what? How do you get connected to your local pods or other mer enthusiasts? What does it take to become a paid performer? Accept your body shape, size, and gender in your mer life, and how it differs from the social constructs of the expected Ariel mer in public.

Come on down to learn about our prehistoric dinosaur friends, learn a dino dance, and roar some dino roars!

Saugus System. Ted Butler reads from his forthcoming novel. Rated: G.

As we celebrate the bicentennial of the publication of Frankenstein we look back at the stunning silhouettes of the Regency era and the signature looks for men and women. Come learn about patterns, draping techniques, opportunities to dress in the Empire style, and more.

Vision is one of our most valuable, largest brain usage senses. We rely on it more than we realize. But can a variation in this sense be the core of your story? Think Pitch Black.

A panel of people who have experienced bullying and found a way to end it peacefully and/or a way to cope. We will talk about what bullying is, how to recognize it, and some strategies that may help.

Twitter, blogs, Facebook author pages, they all have merit, but some are more worth it than others. What are author groups and can they help you? Should each platform have the same bio and author pic?

If you participated in the glass fusing workshop on Friday, come pick up your art! We’ll discuss what worked, and what didn’t, and how to fix it for next time.

Come send off Norwescon 41’s guests of honor with fanfare. We’ve made it through another year and we want to celebrate the good times we’ve had.

The convention is over. Here’s your chance to weigh in on what went well, and what didn’t. Tell us your favorite and least favorite parts of the convention, so we can try to make it better next year. After all, as a member of Norwescon, this is YOUR convention!